More often than not, anti-immigrant groups use their hateful rhetoric to blame immigrants for all of our nation’s ills. On a regular basis, restrictionist groups release reports that portray immigrants as criminals, terrorists, a threat to American workers, an economic and fiscal burden, or an obstacle to national unity, to mention just a few. The latest attack comes in the form of rumors claiming that the rise in the number of unaccompanied children from Central America is destined to result in a public health crisis. In other words, according to these unfounded rumors, these highly vulnerable children are carriers of disease and are potentially a threat to the nation’s health.

There is no question that the spike in the number of children traveling alone and crossing the U.S.-Mexico border is a delicate issue—the resolution of which requires sophisticated political thinking as well as a multi-strategy approach. Because of the seriousness of this humanitarian situation, however, it is unfortunate that some groups are intentionally adding more confusion and propagating fear by putting into action their longstanding prejudice against foreigners.

Over the last few weeks, several news outlets have reported on this supposed association between migrant children and diseases. According to these reports, child migrants will infect the public with leprosy, tuberculosis, and swine flu, among other diseases. Some lawmakers have also followed this trend, citing health and safety concerns as an issue to be addressed in response to the unaccompanied child migrant crisis. But these fears are not backed up by any sound evidence, relying instead on overgeneralizations. It is true that a few cases of children with swine flu and tuberculosis have been reported, but there is a big leap between that and the warnings about an imminent epidemic outbreak.

Unfortunately, the tone and content of these alarmist reactions are anything but new in our country’s history. At different points in time, different groups have been blamed for bringing diseases and endangering the health of the American people. In a comprehensive historical review of the association between immigrants and disease in American society, medical historians Howard Markel and Alexandra Stern show the various ways in which immigrants have been stigmatized at different junctures throughout the country’s history. As the analysis reveals, “Anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy have often been framed by an explicitly medical language, one in which the line between perceived and actual threat is slippery and prone to hysteria and hyperbole.” In other words, the perception of the threat of the “germ-carrying immigrant” was typically significantly greater than the actual risk.

Between 1891 and 1924, Markel and Stern assert, Asians were characterized as “feeble and infested with hookworm,” and eastern European Jews as “vulnerable to trachoma or tuberculosis.” After the start of the Mexican Revolution, Mexicans began being portrayed as diseased and dirty. In the same vein, historian Alan Kraut maintains that the Irish were charged with bringing cholera to the country in 1932, and later the Italians were stigmatized for polio. And we can keep adding examples to the list.

The United States has come a long way in its fight against prejudice and discrimination. But the struggle is far from over. The stereotyping of unaccompanied migrant children as carriers of diseases adds nothing but confusion to an issue that deserves serious attention.

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NelsonRobison

This problem that we are currently encountering is a form of phobia that at this point should be well known to all Americans, xenophobia! We cannot long endure as a nation, a nation of people who came to this nation as immigrants. Immigrants who with nothing in their possession, came because of economic opportunity.

These children came to the U.S. because they are experiencing the end results of two foreign policy boondoggles, 1) the propping up of dictators who were anti-communist in their policies,
2) the failed drug war! We have never ever come close to doing anything about the influx of drugs into this nation. Because the fact is that there is a willing market for the product of the growers and middlemen in the gangs that transport the drugs into the U.S.

Now because of the lack of authorities in control of the violence and the drug gangs that are plaguing the nations of Central America, these children are having to leave their homes and communities for the U.S. Stop this demonisation of these children, we are the ones who caused this perfect storm of conditions that enabled the gangs that are running the drugs to the U.S.

zardinuk

So the problem is lack of weed and lack of communism? You sir are a moonbat.

This article doesn’t even mention the real killer, the killer and paralyzer of our vulnerable child population: enterovirus d68. Google it, and you’ll see how wildly out of touch this article is.

Masmani

“1) the propping up of dictators who were anti-communist in their policies, “.. So who’s propping them up?

NelsonRobison

America has always had a known policy of propping up anti-communist governments that were amenable to the undue influence of American corporations and the bureaucracy that is extant in our nation. What is not correct with this policy? Firstly the undue influence of the corporations that are part of the American landscape, corporations like Chiquita, Dole, et.al. also mining companies, also fossil fuel corporations that have long held the peoples of those nations hostage to a way of life that does not include freedom of choice, freedom to vote for their candidates and freedom of choosing their own government style whether that be socialist, communist or capitalist, oligarchic or plutocratic.

Masmani

So you’re telling me that the 0bama regime is propping up anti-communist dictators. Where?

Human

Yes, wanting our immigration laws enforced is xenophobic. So is not wanting our kids forced into public schools with the diseased illegal alien minors p-resident ebola encouraged to come here. Its just a coincidence that a disease that had 26 cases in the last 40 years suddenly has over 700 cases spread all over the country at the same time as the illegal aliens minors.

Corey T

Health care is so excellent in Central America so obviously no one there has any diseases whatsoever. Nothing to worry about!

Human

This articles attempt to whitewash the facts is amusing to anyone with 3 brain cells.

Human

Ah very good censorship comrades.
Stalin be praised!

Human

Why did you hypocrites remove my comments? You use our freedom of speech and deny it to the people!

ThomasCollins1

“More often than not, anti-immigrant groups use their hate…”

For the three billionth time, it’s ILLEGAL immigration that is the cause for concern. Every country in the world has immigration laws, and most enforce them. But writers such as Guillermo Cantor can’t be bothered with such an inconvenient truth.

And the liberals have worn out the word hate. It is indicative of the shallowness of their positions that they identify “hate” as the motivation of their political opponents, for every issue from illegal immigration to women’s “rights” to homosexuals.

ThomasCollins1

Guillermo took my comment down. That’s the way the do politics in the third world. Coming soon to an internet near you. You know you’re bankrupt when you attribute every policy position of your opponents as being due to “hate”.